Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino has officially been cleared to headline Invicta FC 11 on Friday night after passing a random, out-of-competition drug test.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani broke the news after speaking with California State Athletic Commission Executive Director Andy Foster.
According to Foster, two tests were administered to Justino, and she passed the second one, which was the more thorough of the two tests. However, the results from the first sample, which was tested at Quest Diagnostics in Utah, have not come back yet.
Justino, the reigning Invicta featherweight champ, was required to pass random drug tests to get licensed by the CSAC to compete against Charmaine Tweet on Friday in the headliner of Invicta 11.
It’s protocol for a fighter with a previously failed drug test to pass an out-of-competition drug test when reapplying for a license to fight in California.
Justino was stripped of her Strikeforce featherweight title back in January 2012 after testing positive for Stanozolol, a synthetic anabolic steroid. The news came after her 16-second knockout win over Hiroko Yamanaka at a Strikeforce event in San Diego, California.
Justino passing a random drug test is certainly big news for those still holding out hope for a superfight with UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, who will be defending her title just a few blocks away in Los Angeles on Saturday against Cat Zingano.
An argument over who the best women’s MMA fighter on the planet is has raged for a long time. Perhaps those questions are finally on the brink of being answered.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag Sports.
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